Tuesday, September 30, 2008

I have had recurring dreams before, but never the same dream continuously through out the night. I did Saturday night. It wasn't anything special, but I had the dream three times. The dream was I was a used care salesman. The one moment I really remember was trying to sell some dude a grey Cadillac and part of sale pitch was, "This baby can turn on a dime." The weird part was when I woke up. Every time I awoke from the dream, Led Zeppelin was playing on the radio.

Friday, September 26, 2008

The great Dallas Federal Judge Barefoot Sanders passed away earlier this week. My earliest memories of him was growing up, and hearing his name in the local news. I didn't know what they were talking about, but I just loved that name: Judge Barefoot Sanders. It was until much later that I learned the stories were about the case that would define his career: the desegregation of the Dallas school district. A case which he over saw for years.

After reading his biography he is one of those people who did so much good that I think he rose above normal political crap. Even though he was a Democrat.

If you have some time I would highly recommend reading this article about him. It gives great details on his political and judicial career both locally and on the national scene.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Last week I finally got all of the pieces to finally put together my new computer. Now I feel comfortable installing a new hard drive on a system already built, but building the whole thing by myself. Not so much. Friday my friend told me if I needed any help just let him know. I took that as "I will build it for you." I called him once I got home from work, and he said come on over.

I took everything over to his house I thought he would need. I forgot a bunch of items, but he said don't worry he all of the materials he would need to finish it up. We hit one major bump in the road when we couldn't figure out how to disable the onboard video and get the motherboard to recognize my video card. As far as we could tell we disabled it correctly in the BIOS. My friend finally figured it out, the card was getting enough power from the power supply, so we moved it up closer on the chain. Very frustrating.

Once that little problem was solved it was just installing Windows and all of the games I play. That was really the longest most boring part of the process. I really couldn't give a crap about the LED lights on cases in such. I got one with it, because it was cheap. Now I do care. I keep my computer in my bedroom, and I decided to download the patch to City of Heroes while I slept. Those damn lights are pretty bright when you are trying to sleep.

Everything seems to be running smoothly though, and I am always thankful that I have friends smarter than me who can help me with my computer. It really saves me a buck or two.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Over at Kalinara's site she has a meme on comic book characters based around a letter. I figured I would get in on this, and I got the letter "L". If you would like to participate let me know and I will give you a letter. You aren't restricted to comic book characters, any fictional one will do. So without further ado, lets get started:

1. Lightning Lad: If you know me, you know I am a fan of the Legion of Super-Heroes. It should come as no surprise then that I would work one them into my list. Garth is on of my favorite characters, and as a founding member of the Legion really has a special place for me.

I think he has one of the best background in the 30th century. The relationship with his his super-heroic sister is interesting. Add into the mix that he comes from a race of people were almost everyone has a twin, and his older brother is one of the few without a twin. His brother also has lightning powers, but has turned evil. On top of that, his brother is one of the leaders of the Legion of Super-Villains (in some versions of the Legion anyway). Wow he has a lot going on, and a ton to explore.2. Luke Cage: One of my favorite series from back in the day is Power Man & Iron Fist. Yet, I didn't really care for Luke Cage then. I loved Iron Fist, and I liked Misty Knight and Colleen Wing than Luke. It was until the series Alias, and his relationship with Jessica Jones that I thought he became three dimensional, and a likable character. It is rare that my opinion on a character changes into a positive one, but it certainly did this time. I have also been reading some old PM&IF and I have been having a new appreciation for the character.

3. Lex Luthor: How can you have the letter "L" and not do something Superman related? Well one of the best villains of all time make my list. With a character as old as Lex you get someone who is a lot more complex. He has been known to show a compassionate side, and he is not all-evil all the time (see the Joker). I didn't likeLex much when I was younger, he just seemed so lame. It wasn't until the reboot that I liked him.

What makes him a great villain is that he can't go toe toe with Superman. Superman just can't come in a beat him up, he has to outwit Lex many times, and I think that is what upsets Lex the most. Not only can he not compete with Clark physically, but he outmaneuvers Lex's plans too. Now Clark isn't able to pin anything directly to Luthor, but he is taken down a peg or two. Of course now he is running around in a power suit again and that lessens him in my eyes. Lex shouldn't be fighting he should be scheming.

4. Loki: Now this is just another great villain. He is a villain I can enjoy without his arch nemesis. Hell I usually enjoy him more when he is not dealing with that moron Thor. What makes him great? He is the master of obfuscation. He is so good at hiding his plans, and that he is the one pulling the strings, for a time. Then his hubris gets in the way. He just can't help himself from making a grand entrance and letting you know he is the one responsible for your downfall. Plus out of the people on my list, he has the coolest costume.

5. Leonardo: Not that he is my favorite ninja turtle, but the turtles themselves do play a part in my personal comic book history:

When I first started collecting comic books I ordered from a company in New Hampshire. Each month they sent a list of comic books you could order and with that list they also had a 1 to 2 page newsletter with it. In that first newsletter I got there was a blurb about the Teenage Mutant Ninga Turtles series, and how "hot" it was at the time. I placed an order for thext upcoming issue (number 4 for those keeping score). This was my introduction to the whole independent scene. It really opened my eyes that there comics to be read beyond Marvel and DC, and they were good!

Back to Leo though, he wasn't my favorite, but I always admired him. As leader of the group he had to put up with a lot of crap from the others, especially Raphael. He was the one who was the most dedicated mastering his ninjitsu. I haven't read the title in forever, but I loved it when I did.

Monday, September 15, 2008

In a way a kind of feel ripped off. We were told we are going to get this great storm over the weekend, and by the time it reached us late Saturday afternoon. It was kind of windy and it rained for about an hour or so. It was weaker than a normal spring thunderstorm. After all the effort the gas stations made by raising their prices by 30 cents in about a 5 hour period to gouge the consumer. It wasn’t even bad enough to lose satellite reception. We had a much worse rainstorm about a month ago. Of course that didn’t stop the weatherman from coming on during EVERY commercial break during the OSU-USC game to tell us about it. I was prepared though with my bottled water just in case. Of course you would know it more commonly as a twelve pack of beer.

Speaking of the Ohio State-USC game it was so delicious seeing Ohio State get creamed. My roommate is a huge fan of the Buckeyes. As I told him at half time, ”This isn’t even a national championship game.” What the heck were the Buckeyes doing with their quarterbacks? Sometimes alternating plays, and getting no continuity. Must be hard for the lineman to have to adjust from a pocket passer and then a pure running QB between plays.

In local radio news: I’ve been hearing commercials on the station I listen to for a company called Ashley Madison. The first couple of times I heard the commercial I thought it was joke by the station, but I kept hearing the ad. Apparently it is an on-line dating service for people looking to have affairs. That is right a website that directly endorses infidelity.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Batten down the hatches!: After checking in with the Travis weather center it seems like Hurricane Ike will still be Tropical Storm Ike when it hits here early Sunday morning. This could all change by tomorrow of course. This is the first hurricane I can remember that will still be pretty strong once it reaches here since Hurricane Alicia back in 1983.

I am so glad I don't live in Dallas proper any more: I read this story earlier today. Essentially $500,000 and 2 years was spent on a scale model for the Trinity River Project, and they didn't even finish the models of the most important parts: what the bridges will look like. The models they used look like a diving board that just ends mid-air. This is a model for a project that the Army Corps of Engineers has said can't be done without flooding downtown Dallas.

I constantly read articles of what is going on in Dallas politics and items like the one above and it always just pisses me off at what goes on down there.

UPDATE: If Ike continues on its current track and hit the Dallas-area as suspected it will either be a Tropical Storm or maybe even a category 1 hurricane. The biggest tropical storm to reach Dallas since Hurricane Carla in 1961.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

This is of course Ferro Lad of the legion as rendered by the great Michael Lark. Probably best known for Gotham Central and his current run on Daredevil. This was done at the same con as the Steve Erwin sketch. I've had the pleasure of talking with Mr. Lark several times. Including when he has done sketches at the Hero Initiative booth at Wizard World Texas. He has also taken Hero Initiative collection cans to his own table to collect money there as well. He couldn't be a nicer guy.

I think the rivets on the costume is what makes the drawing. Michael's comment when he was done, "How ridiculous he has the symbol for iron on his chest. " That's the legion!

Thursday, September 4, 2008

My Labor Day weekend: Well it was a weekend of hedonism. Friday night I went and ate sushi at Kotta Sushi Bar. Saturday I went to a friend's house, that night we played poker and I spent the night at his house. Sunday, I went to the comic book shop, and then went straight to my boss' house as he was having a party there. I got smashed there and just spent the night there. (No way I was driving home in my condition). Monday, I slept. Besides drinking to much the night before, I had gotten little sleep Friday and Saturday night. Around 5 hours each night. I took and extra day off, and Tuesday I just hung aroudnd the house and relaxed.

The weather: Oh man has it been great around here. Right now it is around 73 degrees, it would normally be in the upper 80s or lower 90s by now. With the sunshine and wind blowing it feels like Fall.

Me and my bike: Last week I went and rode my bike for the first time in over a month. I was riding for about 5 minutes, and I was just like, "Man, I am just worn out. What is the deal?" I looked down and my front tire was halfway flat. It took me a while to get back home. I am not that smart.

And the winner is: For those of you who read the Texas State Fair food post, the chicken fried bacon won the first place prize. The person who won last year estimates a 20% bump in sales to whoever won, so that should be a pretty big boost in revenue.

So in 2006 we had reports that because of global warming we were going to have 9 Katrina sized hurricanes. We had none.

In 2007 we were told that global warming was causing a decrease in hurricanes. Why? That year we didn't have that many hurricanes.

Now this year we get notification that global warming makes the bigger storms...bigger.

Now I don't claim to be an expert, but the experts just end up looking like fools, because every year that try to fit global warming into whatever hurricanes are doing that year. I guess if you change your theory every year, you will always be right. It just seems silly to base those theories on a sample size of one year, or at least the appearance of just one year.